by Christian Horn

Cobra, high-heeled shoe, golf club... Quite a few nicknames have emerged for the new Bergisel Ski Jump since its opening in September 2002. Time will tell if one of these nicknames will stick, but already the ski jump by the London firm Zaha Hadid Architects has become an important point of reference for the surrounding mountain landscape.

The project is unusual because it is more than a ski jump. It is a hybrid of a highly specialized sports facility and a collection of public spaces including a cafe and a public viewing terrace. Normally, a ski jump is a relatively one-dimensional technical building, laid out for a single purpose. But in Innsbruck, the architects wanted to find a new form to express the mixed use.

Innsbruck has a long tradition as a venue for winter sport competitions, especially for Olympic ski jumping. Bergisel Mountain, overlooking the town, was the venue of the great ski jumping competitions during the Winter Olympics of 1964 and 1976.   >>>

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The Bergisel Ski Jump in Innsbruck, Austria by Zaha Hadid Architects. Photo: Hélène Binet The new ski jump towers over the town of Innsbruck. Photo: Hélène Binet   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.